


don't hesitate to say

by Lovelylime



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Nonbinary Character, Use of they/them pronouns, this is just Lime's Big Nonbinary Bash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:41:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25212598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lovelylime/pseuds/Lovelylime
Summary: "Lisa?""Yes?""I'm not a girl."Or, Minato Yukina is just themself.
Relationships: Imai Lisa & Minato Yukina
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	don't hesitate to say

**Author's Note:**

> i apply my general genderfuckery to every character i like thats just how it is man i don't headcanon i just know and perceive the truth

There’s nothing that can compare to playing your heart out on a stage with the most talented musicians you know. The lights, the cheers, the energy; it makes you feel like your heart’s about to burst out of your chest. But Lisa would be lying if she said she didn’t equally cherish the quiet moments with Roselia, the group dinners and the summer trips. And her favourite part of any day, walking home with Yukina. 

To the unobservant, Minato Yukina is cold and unyielding: singularly focused on self-improvement and callous to the point of cruelty. But Lisa is nothing if not observant, and she knows that everything Yukina says comes from a place of genuine goodwill. She can be harsh at times, but anything she tears down she does so only to see it built back up stronger. Yukina doesn’t mince words, pull punches; and it’s that brutal honesty that assures Lisa of her place at Yukina’s side. If her company wasn’t appreciated, she would know. 

So it’s not unusual for Yukina to calmly say something completely out of the left field, apropos of nothing. In those precious moments of their commute, Yukina will suddenly voice her firm opinion on anything from the tempo change after the intro of Roselia’s new song, to how gacha games are unquestionably rigged. It’s just another quirk Lisa loves about her. 

Today, as they wait for the train, Yukina says, “Lisa?” 

“Yes?” 

There’s an uncharacteristic pause. Lisa looks over sharply. She’s rarely, if ever, heard Yukina hesitate to say something, and seeing someone so unerringly confident second-guess themselves is unnerving. 

And then Yukina steels herself and says, “I’m not a girl.” 

That also gives Lisa pause, but a much less concerned one. “Ah. Are you a boy?” 

“No.” No hesitation there. 

“Are you just Yukina?” At that, Lisa gets one of Yukina’s precious little smiles. 

“Yes.” 

“Well, alright then,” Lisa says, bumping Yukina’s shoulder with her own as the train arrives. “Thank you for telling me.” 

“So,” Lisa says when they’ve taken their seats on the train, “Do you want to make any changes to your pronouns or presentation?” 

“Not substantially,” Yukina responds, shifting in her seat. “I wear our school uniform most of the time, and it’s perfectly adequate. And I like our stage outfits. But, I do want to change pronouns. I’m not opposed to being called ‘she’, but I would prefer ‘they’.” 

It’s so much like Yukina to have so thoroughly thought out everything in advance. And these are requests Lisa is happy to comply with. “Okay! One other question: who else do you want to tell?” 

“The rest of the band should be told at the earliest convenience, but aside from them, it doesn’t really matter to me.” Yukina looks over at her, and Lisa sees that ever-present burning ambition in their eyes. “All anyone else needs to know about me is the music.” 

“But,” she adds, “if it does come up, feel free to correct them.” 

Lisa grins. “You got it, captain!” 

Telling the rest of their band goes smooth as anything. They all know Yukina well, and know that there’s no way to define them in simple terms. Their fearless leader goes by ‘they’ now, and business as usual carries on. 

It slowly makes its way through the rest of their friends. Kasumi and the rest of PoPiPa respond by yelling things like “Wow!”, “Cool!”, “Sparkly!”, as Arisa tries to rein them in. Afterglow takes the news the same way they do most things: casually. Ran and Yukina share a glance, and Lisa really tries to not feel jealous. PasuPare already knew, having heard from Hina (who read Sayo’s texts while her sister was in the bathroom). 

Hello, Happy World was always a wild card, defying expectations, and this was no different. When Rinko gently corrects Kokoro on Yukina’s pronouns, she shouts, “Oh! Like Kaoru! Awesome!” 

“Oh!” Rinko says, “Is Kaoru also-” 

Kokoro cuts her right off. “She’s nonbinary! There’s like, 50 underclassmen who call her their boyfriend. Anyway, thanks for letting me know about Yukina!” And then she cartwheels out of the room, because she’s Kokoro. 

“Huh,” Sayo says afterwards. “I was not aware of Kaoru’s identity. I’m glad there’s more examples of gender-nonconformity than just Yukina though.” 

And it’s not just Kaoru, either. Word makes its way to Raise A Suilen, and Masuki comes over for a very stilted conversation with Yukina about how they also use neutral pronouns, and prefer masculine clothing. Both of them are adorably awkward, but it’s obvious how much more confident Yukina is after having someone to compare experiences with. After that, Yukina starts telling people their preferred pronouns before they make a mistake, instead of waiting for someone else to correct them after the fact. 

A few weeks later, on their walk home, Yukina tells Lisa that they’ve planned to go for lunch with Kaoru and Masuki after Roselia’s practice on Saturday. Lisa smiles, and tells them to have fun. 

(Years later, when they’re sitting in a room full of platinum records and an interviewer questions them on Yukina’s identity, they give that small smile and say, “I’m just Yukina, and all anyone needs to know about me is the music,” without hesitation.)

**Author's Note:**

> theres so many butches in bandori and i knew i wanted to write about some of them being nb, and i wholeheartedly headcanoned kaoru and masuki as being nb but like, fully established in their own identities, so i couldnt really see myself writing about them coming out. and then yukina just called to me. 
> 
> anyway, thanks for reading this, i love you ^_^


End file.
